Thousands of people jammed a Richmond Hill hotel last week and stood in line for hours to get a hug from an Indian holy woman.

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Thousands of people jammed a Richmond Hill hotel last week and stood in

line for hours to get a hug from an Indian holy woman.

Indian holy woman brings charity campaign to Richmond Hill

 

Aug 2, 2005

Roy Green, Staff Writer - More from this author

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Thousands of people jammed a Richmond Hill hotel last week and stood in

line for hours to get a hug from an Indian holy woman.

 

Mata Amritanandamayi, whose followers call her "Amma" -- an Indian word

meaning mother -- concluded an 11-city North American tour at the

Sheraton Parkway hotel Thursday night.

 

More than 1,000 people sat in the lotus position shoeless in a giant

ballroom, while another 1,000 jammed around TV sets on the convention

floor to hear Amma's message of "peace and unconditional love".

 

Then they formed a long line beside the temporary shelves of shoes

filling the corridors, waiting patiently for the opportunity of a hug

from the woman who has become known as "the hugging saint".

 

In three sessions at the hotel last week, the 51-year-old embraced more

than 5,000 people and, though the sessions are free, raised thousands of

dollars in donations for tsunami relief and a host of other charitable

causes.

 

Amma has hugged an estimated 24 million people over 30 years, allowing

her to pledge more than $20 million to tsunami relief, build homes,

orphanages and hospitals in India. She has inspired a vast network of

charitable activities.

 

But the real attraction for Thursday's session was the opportunity to

embrace Amma. Thursday's hugging session was expected to last for hours,

said a sari-wearing volunteer as the line continued to grow.

 

"Judging by this line-up, she'll be here until 11 or 11:30 tomorrow

morning," said Rama, a California woman who has been part of Amma's

North American tours since 1987. "She won't take a rest or go to the

bathroom until she's seen them all."

 

Although he opted to skip Thursday's line-up, David Corkill of Toronto

admits Amma has worldwide appeal for millions.

 

"A lot of people, especially the first time they meet her, just break

down and cry," said Mr. Corkill, who met Amma after the tsunami in

Southeast Asia last winter.

 

"It's too crowded here tonight for me and I don't personally like all

the elaborate staging and show biz stuff, but that goes over very big in

India. And there's no doubt of the good things she's done. She's even

running into friction with the government in her own province in India

because she's doing more for the poor and needy than they are. And she's

doing it faster."

 

 

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Staff Photo/Susie Kockerscheidt

 

Mata Amritanandamayi, better known as Amma, enters a retreat at Richmond

Hill's Sheraton Parkway Hotel Thursday. The program attracted thousands

of people, who came to be hugged.

 

 

 

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--

Be Love,

Egyirba (Berijoy)

http://www.egyirba.net

 

"Do or not do. There is no try." ~Yoda